August 6, 2010 · 5:00 am

Conversations with Anna.

Let’s keep the next few Fridays a little light-hearted, shall we?  We shall, we shall.  With a Friday title such as “Conversations with Anna”, I don’t think we have a choice really.  I journaled many conversations and situations with the one and only Anna Takle while on my blogging hiatus.  I just hated for it not to be penned permanently.

We’ll call this conversation “Conversation Obama.”  Why do I feel like I’ve lost readers already?

Anyhoo.

We fly a lot. I am married to a pilot, after all.  I’ve pretty much mastered the art of occupying my children while in flight with books, games, activities and such.  Well, mastered up until Anna breaks out into…being Anna. 

Scene:  John Henry is drawing a picture of a man.

John Henry:  “It’s a president.  I’ll give you a hint.  He’s on the quarter.”

Anna:  “George Washington!”

John Henry:  “Yes!”

Anna:  “Wait.  But, George Washington has fluffy hair.  This man does not have fluffy hair.”

***INSERT MOM TRYING TO CAPITALIZE ON AN EDUCATIONAL MOMENT***

Me:  “Okay kids, who is on the penny?”

Anna:  “Obama!!!”

Yes, we still have a little way to go on learning our country’s presidents.  But, she did know that Lincoln was our sixteenth president.  And, well, that is something. 

Hail to the Chief.

And, Happy Birthday to my momma.  She’s never been a president.  But she loves me and keeps ALL of my youngins.  So, she wins.

Love you @bcgoss.

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August 5, 2010 · 5:00 am

Posers.

I spoke to a group of young people last night about posers.  We all have been a poser.  We all have pretended to be someone or something we are not.  I talked about the story of the disciple Peter.  You know the one.  Where he denied knowing Christ three times before some rooster crowed. 

I realized this story is not just about a man denying his knowledge of Christ.  It’s about a man denying who HE is.  How often we pose to please people.  We pose, because we don’t want to rock the proverbial boat.  We pose, because we fear rejection.  We pose, because we want to seem normal.

But, I’ve seen normal.

And, I really don’t think I like it.

It’s normal to gossip.  It’s normal to be selfish.  It’s normal to do the church thing on Sunday and then live a life that doesn’t please my Father.  There is a lot of “normal” that really isn’t good at all.  So, why pose? 

I know this is usually a struggle more for young people than adults….maybe.  But, we have all posed at some point in our life.  The issue at hand, however, is not the fact that we deny Christ in the process.  It’s the fact that we deny who WE are.

You are a child of the King.  The power that raised Christ from the dead is inside of you.  You aren’t who people say you are.  You are who God says you are. 

Don’t ever deny that.

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August 4, 2010 · 5:00 am

Bounce Your Thoughts.

I have this sweet, little scripture hanging in my home:

Whatever is noble, right, pure, lovely…think on these things.  Philippians 4:8

I say “sweet, little” because, well, it’s a nice goal.  Don’t ya think?  But, who really takes it to heart and executes it in his or her life? 

Not me.  Not always.

I can let my thought life take me down a road of perpetual worry.  I can let my thought life cause me to become resentful of not having more time for myself.  I can let my thought life lead me down a road of becoming irritated with my husband, because he fails to see his clothes on the floor.  I can let my thought life do a lot of damage in a day. 

It can rob me of time that I can’t ever get back.  It can rob me of trusting in Him, because I worry.  It can rob me of enjoying a smile from my baby boy’s sweet face, because I’m thinking how little time I have to myself in a day.  It can rob me of appreciating how hard my husband works for our family. 

I’ve always heard we should “bounce our eyes” when confronted with something visually unhealthy.  That’s important.  But, so is bouncing our thoughts.  The moment we let a thought that is not noble, right, pure or lovely surface, we need to bounce it immediately.

What if every one of our thoughts was truly noble, right, pure, and lovely?  How different would our life look?  How much more would I enjoy the gifts God has given me?  How much more would I trust in my Savior who has NEVER let me down? 

This is exactly what God is working in my life right at this moment.  He is teaching me how much I need to bounce my thoughts.  And, oh boy, will I need some reminders and accountability on this one.

How is your thought life?

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August 3, 2010 · 5:00 am

A Life of Worship

The storm knocked out our cable and wireless for a wonderful couple of hours.  I placed the iPod on the docking station, held baby boy, and listened to the big kids sing along to worship song after worship song.  I looked up and saw John Henry raising his hands and closing his eyes. 

“Mom, I’m worshipping God right now, since I wasn’t at church Sunday,” he told me.

“You can worship God any time you want,” I assured him.

And, we did just that.  Tears flooded my eyes as I worshipped the Creator with my children.  Then, we talked about worship. 

“What is worship, Anna?”

“It’s something we send to God,” she answered.

Something we send to Him.  It’s not something we just do on Sunday.  It’s a life lived.  A life lived that brings glory to Him.  A life that honors Him.

A life that gives.

That blesses.

That seeks His Kingdom first.

That chases after God.

Everybody worships something.  But, we were made to worship Him.

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you.  Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable.  This is truly the way to worship him.  Romans 12:1

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August 2, 2010 · 5:00 am

I Need You.

I love YouVersion.  I love that I have access to the bible and dang near any translation at the sweep of my little finger.  And, when I read Galatians 6:4-5 in The Message translation, well, I was convicted.

Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don’t be impressed with yourself. Don’t compare yourself with others.  Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life.

Is this translation not the awesomest?  Yes.  Awesomest.  Look it up.  It’s a word.

I’m just kiddin’.  It’s not really.

I love this.  I love that it made me take my eyes off of other people and what they are doing, or not doing, for the Kingdom.  Puh-retty judgmental of me, don’t ya think?  Yeppers.  Grrr you, Dusty Takle.  There were times I would look at others and wonder why they weren’t as passionate about something as I was.  Never mind that we are all fearfully and wonderfully made….that we were each created for a unique purpose. 

I am responsible for my own life.  And, you are responsible for yours.  I know.  My life revelations are astounding, eh?  Eh?

Here’s the deal, in case you don’t know or may have forgotten:

God created you.

You are not an accident.

He has a plan for you. 

You have a purpose in life.

You matter.

And, we all need you.

Y’all come back tomorrow.  I’ll be here.

For real.

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June 8, 2010 · 6:00 am

Raising Lion Chasers.

My dad is preaching a series this month on becoming a lion chaser.  He’s using Mark Batterson’s “In the Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day” as a foundation for this series.  Well, that and the bible, of course.  Dad and I have talked a lot about this series.  Mostly, what it means to be a lion chaser.  As a mother of three, yes THREE, children, I am thinking constantly of how to raise my own lion chasers.  Because, our greatest regrets in life will be the lions we did not chase.

Can I just pause right now and insert how much I LOVE being a mother right now?  Today.  In this world.  In this culture.  In this chaos.  In this uncertainty.  In these times labeled as scary.  Uncertain.  With echoes of “this world is going to hell in a handbasket.”  Because, I know that it’s in these times that God does His thing.  HIS thing.  He always prevails.  It IS His world, by the way.   And, I’m so pumped to be raising my children in a time where seeing the glory of God is just inevitable. 

Okay.  Close insert.

Back to chasing lions and kicking, well, kicking tail.

See this awesome kid?

He is my very cautious seven-year old.  He looks before he leaps.  He analyzes his moves long before he makes them.  So, I found it very uncanny that he would be the first kid out of six to leap off of a 25 foot drop into what’s called the “Blue Hole” on a recent vacation to Bahamas.  That right in the middle of our many talks about being a lion chaser, my very reserved son became a fearless….warrior.

So, now?  I’ll tell him the story of Benaiah. 

And, I’ll remind of him of this obscure story for the remainder of his days as long as he lives down the hall from me.  Because, I know…..

I just know. 

God has called him to be a lion chaser.  To conquer his fears.  To conquer the chaos.  And to make known once again that we do not live in uncertain times.  We live in certain times. 

Paid for over two-thousand years ago.

Benaiah chased a lion down into a pit. Then, despite the snow and slippery ground, he caught the lion and killed it. II Samuel 23:20

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May 24, 2010 · 9:09 pm

Who Knows What the Tide Will Bring.

Kris and I watch the movie Cast Away most every time it comes on television.  I’m not sure why.  There is practically little to no dialogue during the first half of the movie.  Come to think of it… Maybe, we like there is little to no dialogue.  Once you have three children, silence is bliss.

Anyway, we were watching recently and I heard Tom Hanks’ character say:

“I have to keep breathing.  Because, tomorrow the sun will rise, and who knows what the tide will bring.”

Many have inquired about my little surgery and biopsies and whathaveyou.  It was all good, friends.  All good.  I was never really fearful, but there is always an awareness of the fragility of life when our lives are stopped head on with major interruptions and more doctor’s appointments that we care to attend to. 

But, I am a wife.  I am a mother.  And, most importantly, I am a follower of Christ.  I have continue to walk in truth.  I have to keep pressing toward the mark no matter what is staring me in the face. 

While our current situation may look grim or seem hopeless, we have to keep breathing.  We have to keep praying.  We have to keep trusting in our Father who loves us more than we can fathom.  Because, tomorrow the sun will rise, and who knows what God will do.

Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.  Psalm 30:5

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May 18, 2010 · 6:00 pm

Because They Need A Savior.

I worry about my oldest.  I carefully watch over his heart.  I try to guard him from anything that may bring him discomfort on any level. 

He’s my sensitive one.  He’s the one who will forgo something he wants so someone else can have the something he or she wants.    

So, I can worry.  And, I guard him intensely. 

Which pretty much means I don’t trust my Heavenly Father with him. 

My sweet friend, Kim Heinecke, reminded me that if I could protect my children from everything, they wouldn’t need a Savior.

Whoa. 

I recognize my need for a Savior.  So, I seek Him with everything that is within me.  I want John Henry to seek Him that way, too.  I know He loves Jesus.  But, it is also my job to make sure he sees his need for Him.

So, our latest conversation went something like this:

“John Henry, you are going to have to trust God with this.  Let’s pray about it.”

This might be his first lesson in really seeing the faithfulness of God.  And, I pray it’s the beginning of John Henry recognizing how much he needs the Savior.

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May 17, 2010 · 6:00 am

An Era Has Ended.

Actually, a near century has ended when you consider the sisterhood of Big Mama and Aunt Kate.  Aunt Kate passed away on Thursday.  The kids and I were blessed to spend time Mother’s Day weekend with her.

And, I’m beginning to think that Aunt Kate’s sassiness was inherited by my five year old.  I’m not sure, but I think had Anna been a teenager post the crash of ’29, she would have cut her hair short, smoked a cigarette, and looked down a well in the month of May in hopes of seeing her true love’s reflection.  Just like Aunt Kate did.  Hence, my great task of parenting her intentionally.

Of course, I did dip snuff with Aunt Kate when I was a young one.  Well, I’d put a tissue down my blouse like she did and she’d give me a red Dixie cup to spit in.  Okay, to spit my cocoa in.  Nonetheless, her personality was contagious enough to want to mimic.

And while I’ll miss her always telling me, “Love ya, babe,” no one will miss her like Big Mama.  Orphaned at very young ages and raised by their eldest siblings, they endured a Depression together, times of war together, good times, and trying times.  Big Mama married one Edward Goss.  Aunt Kate married his brother, Van.  They never closed their eyes to sleep without one calling the other to say, “Goodnight, sweet dreams, I love you.”  Ever.

On the day Aunt Kate died, she called, “Callie Mae!”  Big Mama made her way to her side.  Aunt Kate didn’t say a word, but Big Mama just knew what she wanted to say.

“Goodnight, sweet dreams, I love you.”

A sisterhood that lasted 91 years.  I really can’t imagine.

You’ll be missed, Aunt Kate.  I love ya, babe.

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May 6, 2010 · 6:00 am

Who Am I?

My dad is in town visiting this week.  And really, his timing was certainly ordained by God.  For real.    Anyhoo, we were sitting outside on my patio a couple of nights ago watching my two oldest play, while dad held Jett.  (A job he didn’t mind being tasked with at all.)  John Henry and Anna began to sing, “I Am A Friend of God.” 

They sang these lyrics:

Who am I that you are mindful of me
That you hear me, when I call
Is it true that you are thinking of me
How you love me, it’s amazing

I turned to my father, and I said, “Isn’t it truly amazing that He really is mindful of us?  Isn’t that the most beautiful scripture?”

That the Creator of the universe thinks about me. 

He thinks about you.

How can we not fall in love with Him even more every time the sun rises?

 3 When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—
the moon and the stars you set in place—
4 what are mere mortals that you should think about them,
human beings that you should care for them?
5 Yet you made them only a little lower than God
and crowned them with glory and honor.  Psalm 8:3-5

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